Willpower
by Jowasut
Summary: Jaune Arc has a semblance. One with so much potential that it can change the very world itself. Can he discover each and every one of its secrets? Crossover with One Piece.
1. Chapter 1: Semblance

All rights reserved.

 **Chapter One : Semblance**

* * *

Semblance.

The projection of one's soul.

Every living thing has a soul. If they have their Aura unlocked, in time they can learn to project it outward. Aura has many uses; the ability to heal wounds, project force fields, enhance the senses, enhance bodily function etc.

These skills can in fact be learnt by anybody who puts in time and effort to train these skills.

The first ever huntsman was a powerful being. It was said that this man meditated for 50 years to unlock the power of his soul. In that time he dug into the very depths of his mind scape to reach an understanding like no human ever attempted before him. People called him mad. They slandered and hated him for his massive willpower of believing that humans were not meant to be the bottom of the food chain.

The hatred they had evaporated however as the final day of his meditation came to a close. He trounced past the very shell of his soul and pulled it outward to protect him from harm. Thus it was named as Aura. The very light of the soul.

In time the first huntsman learned to control this power and shaped it into a weapon. A weapon of power and might to slay the monsters that hounded the people of the olden days. He became a light, a beacon of hope for the people of that time. He was a hero, a legend like no other that did his duty and vanquished the monsters that doorstep.

This man trained in his abilities to the point where he would collapse from exhaustion. But it yielded results. He formed a way for his soul to resonate with the people around him and thus was able to awaken his followers' own Aura. And they were dubbed as Hunters.

The ones who would hunt the monsters.

Their tales were of heroic and powerful deeds. They were travellers, wanderers and even lovers but no one had any doubt that they were beings resembling gods.

Around a year or so after the group was formed. The first huntsman discovered a hidden property of his soul. That hidden property gave him the ability to summon and command the elements as he pleased. He was confused at how he was able to do such an act but didn't put much thought in the action, thinking that the other hunter would also develop the same elemental prowess that he showed.

The rest of the hunter and huntresses had also developed the hidden aspect of their souls but it wasn't the same as he had. Some could fly, some had control over blood and many more.

The only thing that was shared was that not one of these hidden properties were the same. Sure one or two were slightly similar but not completely.

Thus the first huntsman named this hidden property, Semblance.

The projection of one's soul.

* * *

"Sigh, basically what I'm trying to say is semblances can be almost anything. Some are just unfairly powerful when compared to a lot others." Jaune said to the Beowolf.

The grimm tried its best to move but it was frozen in fear. Yes, fear. See, the thing is...Grimm aren't supposed to feel fear. They do things instinctively but their instincts aren't like normal animals. They are literally programmed to attack any thing that has emotion. They have no concept of retreat. No concept of common sense or anything else really.

The fact that a beowolf was showing fear was laughable.

But then again... Semblances were always different with every person. And it just so happens that Jaune Arc's semblance was...

The beowolf growled at the teen in front of him. An invisible pressure pulsed from the boy in front of it, rendering the grimm completely and utterly powerless.

"Sorry there, I don't usually do this but I was bored and you so happened to be around. Oh alright! I'll finish you off now." Jaune replied.

Before the beowolf could process what he meant, its head fell off from its shoulders. It turned into smoke particles a moment later.

"Sheesh, how long have I been in the Dead Zone? I've actually gone mad and started conversing with the grimm themselves..." he sighed, pulling out his scroll in the process.

"Four Years... wow. Alright, I guess i'll head to Vale. It's about time I had some human contact."

Jaune got into a running stance. His legs tensed as he gazed at the barren land of the Dead Zone. A grin appeared on his face as he activated one of his skills. He pushed off the ground and his body disappeared, appearing to have vanished into thin air.

A second later, a sonic boom occurred.

* * *

"Mommy? Why isn't that person wearing shoes and a shirt?" asked a little girl.

"Don't look sweetie, just ignore him." said the mother as she quickly dragged her daughter away.

Jaune twitched at the comment. He looked down at himself and sighed. He checked his pockets and walked into an open clothing store. He had completely forgotten that people wore a full set of clothing. Shoes included.

He browsed the clothes on display, completely ignoring the looks of confusion and wariness he was receiving from the employees in the store. One employee walked up to him with a curious glint in his eye.

"Excuse me sir, I have to ask, why are you shirtless and shoe-less?" asked the employee.

Jaune glanced at the man, amused.

"They were in the way of my training. Now that I've completed it, it makes sense for me to wear proper clothes again, no?" Jaune answered the man, smiling.

"I-see... not to be rude or anything sir, but do you have the money to pay for those items of clothing?" asked the employee, frowning as he pointed at the shirt Jaune held. Of course the employee would ask that question. Any person would, if a half naked teen walked into their store and started browsing through.

Jaune sighed and pulled out a few lien cards out of his shorts pocket. This had the positive effect of consoling the employee.

10 minutes later, a lithe teen in brown khaki shorts and a black shirt walked out of the store. He glanced at his new threads and smirked. No one was giving him weird looks anymore. Hey, at least he was able to blend in with normal people.

Now, the million dollar question.

Which way was it to Vale?

He was currently at a frontier town around a hundred kilometers away from the Dead Zone. He had to slay more than a fair share of grimm that were in his way to make it to this town. Truth be told, Jaune didn't know which direction to run in so he had leave it up to luck when he exited the Dead Zone. Jaune supposed he should probably count his lucky stars as this town was not only fairly modernized but it also had around a dozen huntsmen to protect it.

How did he know there were huntsmen here?

Easy.

He could sense them.

He looked through a few stores for a map and finally found one that showed him the map of the areas recorded in Remnant. He searched through the map and found out he was in a tiny settlement called Enchille.

Enchille only had three bullheads that would bring in items and Dust to trade. Jaune wasn't planning on traveling on a bullhead as he was much faster on foot than a bullhead could travel.

He took his gaze of the map and looked at the walls surrounding the village.

He tensed his legs and once again his form disappeared, only to reappear on top of the walls.

Jaune sat down as he studied the map once more. He theorized that he should be able to reach the Kingdom of Vale in the time-span of a single day. According to the map, there appeared to be another frontier town on the way to Vale.

It would serve as a good pit stop for him to restock his supplies.

"Hey Kid!" came a voice from below him. "Get down from there!"

Jaune didn't even react to the shout. He had after all sensed the man's presence a few minutes prior.

He stood from his perch, ignoring the frantic shouts of the man. He stretched his limbs and got into a running stance not dissimilar from the one earlier. His legs tensed up briefly before he pushed off the ground, his body disappearing. A moment later, the area of the wall where he stood, shattered and a sonic boom could be heard if one listened closely.

* * *

When he arrived, the town was already halfway from being completely destroyed. Fires raged all around the buildings and there appeared to be bandits fighting against what appeared to be this town's version of the militia.

"Oh boy, this isn't good..." Jaune stated as he gazed at the scene in front of him

One bandit noticed his arrival and rushed straight at him with his sword trailing behind him.

Jaune could instantly tell that the bandit had at least some form of training. The way he ran and the angle his sword was in proved that he was familiar with wielding a blade. Unfortunately for the masked bandit, Jaune wasn't just anyone.

Jaune was someone who had trained in the Dead Zone, also known as The point of no return.

The Grimm lands had three sections. Each more dangerous than the previous. The first is the Red Zone, which has many common grimm that can be found throughout the kingdoms. Ursa and Beowolves being the most common.

The next section of the the grimm-lands was the Dead Zone. Somewhat resembling a barren dessert except the temperature wasn't sweltering hot. The Dead Zone is called the point of no return because of one particular reason. It is teeming with various types of grimm. Some, not even recorded by the history books.

Finally, the Void Zone. No one has ever been to this zone and returned alive. Jaune wanted to explore the area but the energy from the grimm in the Void Zone gave him a pause. Using video game logic, if a beowolf was level 1, Jaune was level 53. The grimm that he could sense over in the Void Zone? Over level 200.

The grimm-lands were separated from the kingdoms by a huge stretch of water, the sea. It would take close to three hours of travelling by bullheads to reach the entrance, the Red Zone. Because of this, very few grimm could cross the vast expanse of the sea.

Jaune dodged the first few swings of the mans weapons. He frowned, seeing the man's ability to wield a blade. If this was a contest of swords, Jaune knew he would lose. The bandit definitely had much more skill than he was anticipated.

Sadly for the bandit, this wasn't a sword fight.

His legs tensed up briefly as he activated his skill, disappearing and reappearing behind the bandit almost instantly. Jaune karate chopped the back of the man's neck, aiming to bring him down as fast as he could. Jaune wanted to help the civilians that were being knocked out by the other bandits as soon as he could.

Jaune was confused as to where the huntsmen protecting this village were. Shouldn't they be helping the civilians evacuate at least?

It was all for naught however as the bandit stood right back up as he eyed Jaune warily.

"You have a speed Semblance. You a huntsman are you?" the bandit growled. "Seems like we missed one boys. That's fine, the boss'll take care o' you soon enou-"

The bandit didn't get to finish his sentence as a fist coated in black rammed into his gut.

"H-how di-d.. aura-" coughed out the bandit before he fell unconscious.

"Tch, so these guys really do have aura. Guess, these guys aren't a group of regular bandits after all and the fact that they mentioned a boss... I'm willing to bet that he's probably the reason why all the huntsmen seem to be missing. This may be trouble." Jaune muttered to himself.

Jaune ducked under a slash from another bandit that snuck up behind him then jumped into the air as the bandit's weapon mecha-shifted into what resembled a flame-thrower.

Just in time too, as the bandit pressed a button on his weapon and out came a massive gout of flame. The bandit was fairly surprised to see the teen in front of him having evaded the attack. He recovered quickly however as he pointed the nozzle toward Jaune. The bandit was sure that he wouldn't be able to dodge mid air and would have to rely on his aura to shield him.

That theory held for less than a second as Jaune seemed to have kicked off of the very air itself like it was the ground and moved to just above where the bandit was standing. He angled his body downward and kicked of the air one more time, his right fist appearing to have turned black.

"Armament." Jaune whispered to himself as he punched the bandit in his face, somehow managing to bypass his opponents aura.

"How'd he do that?" asked bandit number one to bandit number two

"Probably a semblance. Though, I never expected a semblance to be that unique..." bandit two answered.

"You kiddin? The boss can basically attack from almost any angle. This semblance ain't unique at all." bandit number two snorted and pointed at the strange teen in front of him. He then shouted, "Everyone! Target this guy. He has a semblance that can bypass others auras!"

"Take this, weakling!" shouted a bandit as he attempted to cut Jaune in half.

"Damn, this is getting me nowhere!" Jaune shouted as he two of the that attempted to hold him in a choke hold. He back flipped away from a few of them who decided to try and use guns to attack him then jumped a few meters back. They stood in front of him, blocking his way to the villagers that they had tied up.

Jaune frowned, his tone slightly angry, "I'm guessing you aren't going to let me pass, are you?"

"Heheh, you got lucky kid. Even if you're a huntsman in training, defeating all of us together is impossible. We've had a little training of our own, ya know?" replied a bandit who appeared to be the leader of this group.

'Damn, I didn't want to use this as I'm still not very good at controlling it. Don't think they'll give me much of a choice through... alright here goes!' Jaune thought to himself as he lifted his right leg into the air.

"Hey, what's he doing?" asked a bandit.

"Boys! Attack now, I've got a bad feeling about this..." screamed the leader.

Jaune smiled.

"Rankyaku!"

* * *

He took one last glance at the unconscious men around him before turning back to the family that was previously tied up.

"Find a safe place to hide. I'll go and see if there are any more survivors left." said Jaune.

"Mister, wait!" came the voice of the young child as he pulled on Jaune's sleeve.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Jaune asked, concerned if the child was hurt or not.

"No, nothing's wrong mister... its just that... well..." the boy fidgeted slightly.

"Erm... so can I go now or...?" Jaune questioned.

"W-wait, mister! Are you... are you a huntsman?" the child stammered out.

"Em, yeah. I'm actually a-err huntsman in training. Why'd you ask?"

"I-I want to be a huntsman too!" the child shouted, convicted clearly written in his eyes. "Then I'll be as strong as you and something like this will never have to happen again!"

Jaune eyes softened as he gazed at the child. He knelt down to be eye level with the kid.

"What's your name?" Jaune asked.

"Anthony!" the child replied.

"Well, Anthony... I believe that if you put in the conviction and you have the Willpower and the bravery to want to protect this world, you will be a fine huntsman." Jaune smiled at him and stood up.

"I have to go. Good luck Anthony." Jaune the muttered under his breath, "You're gonna need it." He turned towards the fire at the town central and tensed his legs. A moment later, he disappeared, leaving behind a sonic boom in his wake.

"Oh no!" shouted Anthony, an expression of distress covering his face.

"What's wrong sweetie?" his mother questioned, worried.

"I forgot to ask him what his name was!"

His parents glanced at each other and smiled.

* * *

Jaune traveled as fast as his feet could move. He had to get to the other villagers in time. The village's militia system including the hunters must have been preoccupied with the bandit leader.

Considering how the bandits seemed to speak of the person, it was clear that they were strong. How strong? Jaune wasn't sure but he was confident in his ability to fight this person. His semblance and training gave him a massive boosts in that regard.

A glint of a blade caught his eye. He glanced down, seeing more bandits from his parkour across the rooftops. One things which Jaune couldn't fully comprehend was why the bandits didn't seem to be harming anyone. So far among all the bandits that he had witnessed, the worst thing they had done was knock out the rather loud or obnoxious civilians.

Were they really bandits? Jaune remembered a time when he was younger when his family would tell him stories of the truly evil deeds they would do. Killing, plundering and taking hostages so that the authorities wouldn't be able to much of anything in regards to their escape. These guys were neither killing anyone nor were they taking hostages. Jaune sighed as he landed across from the bandit group.

He could immediately resonate with their auras. This particular group of bandits were in no rush to attack him. Rather they seemed more than comfortable to sit it out and wait for him to make the first move. He supposed they were wary for a reason. He wouldn't be surprised if one of the bandits groups he had dispatched earlier had managed to relay a few things about him before he could knock them out.

But Jaune could sense something else form these guys in front of him. The way they held their swords. It wasn't just familiarity that was presented in their grips. It was profound knowledge. Like they knew the ins and outs of their weapons very well. In fact to them, Jaune wouldn't be surprised if it was an extension of their bodies.

They were experienced, he realized.

They've done this before. Whether this was they're first time plundering towns, Jaune wasn't sure. But what he could definitely determine was that they knew what it was like to fight an experienced opponent. Jaune's brows crinkled as he imagined the strain that would accompany fighting these men. He was fairly sure that this would take away much more time then he was hoping to give.

"Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to make a move?" came the snide comment from one of the men.

"What makes you think I'm going to move?" Jaune replied impassively.

The man just smirked at him. "We don't need to do anything. You however are planning on saving these civilians behind me and the more time you spend wasting time here is the less time you get for saving other civilians that are in peril."

Jaune cursed as he realized that this man had a point. It was no skin of these bandits backs if he were to waste time with them when others were in danger. They didn't seem to be harming the civilians but Jaune didn't want to take any chances when it came to the bandits.

Making up his mind, he dashed towards the one who he believed was the leader. He coated his arm with his willpower aiming to shatter through all defenses and aimed it at the man's gut.

Jaune, having gone through a training regime which literally came from a different universe was around a tier or so stronger than a regular huntsman who have been in service of the kingdoms for a few years. All of his physical stats had surpassed that of what was possible for his age.

Which was why he was surprised when the bandit dodged out of the way of his attack with naught but a centimeter. The bandit's buddies instantly reacted to the the current threat which was in this case, Jaune. They swiped at him from all angles that were conceivably possible with their swords.

Jaune, feeling threatened for a second, jumped into the air for a quick escape and continued to jump off of the air to create some distance from them. It seemed that this group could also work well together. In conjunction to personal skill, teamwork was an aspect they focused on as well...

This was slightly problematic.

Jaune jumped off the air and angled his body toward one of the bandits, raising his leg in the process. He kicked at the man's head, expecting his leg to connect. Jaune was once again proved wrong as the man dodged away and grabbed at Jaune's leg while he was still in mid flight.

The bandit pivoted his body in a way that allowed him to throw Jaune over his shoulder and onto the ground. Jaune coughed as his chest slammed painfully down unto the ground. His aura had protected him from external injury but it did nothing to stop the air from forcefully rushing out of his chest.

Jaune flipped forward as his legs tensed and he disappeared and reappeared on top of a broken rooftop which was on fire. He analyzed each of the bandits fighting styles and cursed himself for underestimating these men.

"You're fighting style is odd!" came the shout of the bandit that slammed him on the ground. "You have experience fighting but it feels wrong somehow. Tell me, why aren't you using a weapon?"

"That is not of your concern." Jaune replied, wary. These men didn't seem to be fazed with the level of speed he had displayed.

"You are weak. The weak will always lose to the strong." the group leader shouted.

Jaune's eyes sharpened. They had called him weak, believing that he was displaying his full strength in front of them when he was barely scratching the tip of the iceberg. While it was true he hadn't mastered his skills to the best of his abilities, he still had a profound understanding of them.

It was time to show these men the power of his will.

"You insult what shouldn't be insulted." Jaune replied, his legs tensing as he jumped down to the ground. The air seemed to vibrate with a hum of energy, twisting and distorting as he stepped forward.

The bandit's previously lackluster behavior was immediately culled. They could sense a buildup of power that was about to be emitted by the teen in front of them. It had them slightly sweating. His eyes, shadowed by his hair, his body slowly moving forward without a care in the world seem to give off the image of death.

They grew afraid.

Just as it seemed he was about to release this energy, a red portal swirled into existence in front of them.

The bandit leader had arrived.


	2. Chapter 2: Sense of Power

All rights reserved.

 **Chapter 2: Sense of Power.**

* * *

Jaune dodged out of the way of the slash from her blade. He disappeared and reappeared inside her guard within the blink of an eye. He clenched his fist coated in his willpower and attempted to slam it into her solar plexus. She slipped into a portal and reappeared behind him, sword poised to cut into his neck.

He ducked and weaved out of the way from her slashes. Her way of fighting was slightly above his ability to respond in kind. Jaune found himself outmatched. His breathing turned erratic after a few minutes of engaging with her.

She finally got a hit in as his left foot bent awkwardly went he attempted to dodge. Like a hawk, she capitalized on his weakness as soon as she saw it and slammed the pommel of her sword unto his back, sending him crashing to the ground.

He cried out in pain but refused to show any more weakness and rolled out of the way from a kick she aimed at him. Jaune's legs tensed as he jumped back to create distance between them.

They stopped their attack briefly as they gazed at each other.

Jaune attempted to bring his breathing under control before he engaged again. He was slightly shocked at her prowess with the sword. Her semblance, he assumed was the use and control of portals. He wasn't entirely sure but he had a sneaking suspicion that she could use it very well in combat.

His eyes narrowed.

"You're their leader aren't you?" Jaune questioned.

She gave him no response. He couldn't tell what she was thinking either as the grimm mask covering her face removed all from of expression from showing.

"Why are you doing this?" Jaune questioned again. "There are families, settlements and lives at stake here. We, as living beings should be pooling our resources to fight against the grimm. Not against each other."

A bandit nearby shouted at him.

"You know nothing kid. You are as naive as they come."

"What?" Jaune asked, genuinely confused. He glanced at the bandit that spoke then cursed as he realized his mistake. The first and most basic rule of battle.

"Never take your eyes off of your opponent." came the voice muffled by her mask behind him.

"Shit!" Jaune cursed as he jumped into the air to dodge out of the way from the bandit leader's slash, narrowly missing. Jaune then springed off the air to bring an axe kick over her head.

The lady slipped into a portal before he could connect, however, leaving his kick to impact the ground instead.

She materialized from a portal a few meters ahead of him and sheathed her sword.

"You have a strong body and a strange semblance that empowers your attacks." came the woman's voice. "I am curious as to what your name is, child."

"Well, you can keep guessing as I'm not telling you. Scum like you don't deserve to live, much less know about my name." Jaune spat out.

"You believe me to be scum, do you?" the woman clad in black asked. "You believe that humans should band together and fight the grimm. You are naive."

' _What is she talking about? Should I strike as she is distracted?_ ' Jaune wondered.

"Humans will eventually lose to the grimm and the remnants that remain... they will be slaughtered where they stand. This is due to one reason and one reason only. Both human and faunus-kind are weak!" the woman shouted at the end.

"What..." Jaune couldn't believe the bullshit she was spouting. She was a criminal. Scum like her were the ones who were causing the collapse of the economy in kingdoms and the smaller frontier towns.

"You're a fool. Hunters will never allow the fall of the kingdoms to occur. People like you... criminals and thieves like you are all like a cancer that is slowly devouring the good and earnest cells of Remnant. All of their hard work... all of the time they spent cultivating these lands have been rendered useless just because you and your group decided that you needed resources to plunder!" Jaune shouted.

He couldn't comprehend why humans would be so against each other like this. Hunters were risking their lives for people like these? To protect the good and pure hearts of the living were what hunters were there to do. But these types, the bad apples in the bunch would ruin everything for a shot of resources.

It was these kinds of people that Jaune hated the most.

He clenched his fist as his eyes smoldered with an intense fire. The darkness of the night seemed to cling to his body as he glared at the woman clothed in black in front of him.

The woman narrowed her eyes, looking at the teen in front of her. She was confused as to what his semblance was. Her subordinates mentioned that his fists when coated with that strange black armour, could penetrate through aura like it wasn't even there. She believed it to be his semblance but with the speed he was displaying not to mention his odd ability using the air itself as jumping platform...

Yes, it could be said that the woman was very curious indeed of his identity.

She blinked and took a glance at his eyes. They were glowing?

"You want to know my name?" Jaune asked, a expression of rage appeared on his face.

"Then carve this name into your memory. Because it's going to be the name of the man who defeats you!" Jaune shouted as his gaze fell on the men and women that were tied up by the bandits that surrounded them.

His blue eyes changed colour into silver and started to glow with a fiery light, illuminating the darkness around them.

"My name... is Jaune Arc!"

* * *

"James. We need to talk." said a man in green robes over the phone.

"Why? What's the matter?" came a voice over the phone.

"A new piece has been discovered. This one... trained by Azule himself.

"No... that's not possible. Ozpin, we sealed away that man." the person on the phone muttered.

"You know as much as I do how powerful he was." said Ozpin as his hand clenched on the mug he was holding.

"The man that shattered the moon..." James replied.

"One who Salem herself fears." Ozpin confirmed.

"The Red Dragon of Rosa..." they both said at the same time.

"Ozpin. The seals of Heaven and Hell. No one should be able to remove them."

"James you know very well what his abilities are. Traversing through different dimensions were as simple as breathing to him before we sealed him away." Ozpin sighed. "We don't know who he has taken under his wing just yet, but whoever it is... will be very powerful. Likely stronger than a maiden or even a silver-eyed warrior. Traversing dimensions to train this piece of his must have taken an enormous amount of strength from him."

"He is likely scattered." James hypothesized.

"That is the best possible scenario."

"Do you think Salem will help?" James asked, apprehension clear in his voice.

Ozpin deadpanned, looking at his phone. He sighed before answering.

"We tricked her the last time. I doubt she'll fall for it again."

"Do you have a plan?"

Ozpin smirked. "James, I _always_ have a plan."

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 **Thanks for the reviews. I appreciate your thoughts.**

 **Please give me some feedback on anything you want me to clarify on.**

 **I will respond to them without revealing the plot of my planned story.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was shorter than the first one but I believe that it should be relevant to plot.**

 **Jowasut out.**


	3. Chapter 3: Scum of the Earth

All right reserved

 **Chapter three: Scum of the earth.**

* * *

Jaune's fist impacted the ground, sending dirt flying about all around him. The woman had dodged his attack yet again. No matter what he seemed to do, no matter how many times he kicked or punched her, she would dodge each and every one of his attacks.

He found her skill amazing, really. He could almost believe that this woman had trained in the ways of Haki. Specifically speaking, observation haki. Unfortunately, he knew that was impossible. Jaune had come across that training plan by complete accident. Heck, all of his abilities spawned from massive good luck.

"You're pretty tough, ya know." Jaune said.

The woman gave no reply except to swing her sword once again toward his body. Jaune deflected it off his arm and proceeded to kick at her head. The woman paused before grabbing his leg, completely stopping his kick. She retaliated by punting at his chest only for him to jump up, using his locked leg as a bridge to twist midair and kick towards her back.

She had no choice but to let go of his leg, doing so, slipped through a portal at the bottom of her feet and reappeared a few feet away.

"You're getting complacent." the woman commented, tapping her chin. "Whether conscious or unconsciously, you keep expecting me to dodge your attacks. This has caused them to weaken in strength."

Jaune's eyes narrowed as he heard her speak yet again. Was it true? Could he actively be lowering his strength due to not being able to hit her? This was slightly problematic for him.

"Your fighting skills are terrible." She spoke yet again. "I wonder who trained you, Jaune Arc."

"Shut up."

"Why? I am only stating that your proficiency of fighting is like that of a child." she said, amusement dripping from her voice. "Would you like to know a certain piece of information? Who knows?" she shrugged, "You might find it quite valuable."

"Why are you even talking to me? Lets just fight and get this over with. Seriously who talks when they're fighting?" Jaune questioned.

"How vulgar. You're the one who started conversing with me." the woman commented, shaking her head.

"What? I'm not vulgar! The hell is wrong with you. Why am I even responding to scum like you?"

"Sigh, Jaune Arc. It seems you still don't understand. You don't understand how truly weak you are. You believe the world is black and white. You think I'm evil? Think again."

"Weak? True, I may not be as skilled as you are, but I'm strong enough to do what's right. To put people like you behind bars. For good. The proof of me being strong showed itself when I defeated your subordinates." Jaune smirked, believing he had one-upped her.

"Tell me Jaune... why couldn't you defeat these men, then? They gave you trouble. True, they aren't up to my level of skill but they are still plenty powerful. Your semblance, it can pierce through aura can it not?"

She paused, before continuing.

"With your speed and admittedly odd skill set of powers, you should have been able to beat them easily." The woman gestured to her subordinates. "So, tell me Jaune, why do you think you weren't able to do so?"

"What are you getting at?" Jaune replied, eyes narrowing. Was there something going on that he wasn't aware of?

She unsheathed her sword and pointed the blade at him.

"Its simple Jaune Arc."

"You have no experience in fighting people. The way you fight is that of a brawler. A newbie that only knows how to punch and kick. You have no technique in your punches. You telegraph all your attacks before attempting to do them."

Jaune's eyes widened. He didn't realize...

"Which is why I'm curious who your teacher is. If your teacher taught you how to fight like this, he or she is incompetent." she finished.

Jaune looked at his armament coated hands. He clenched them tight. They felt empty. He looked back at the woman in front of him. She was right. The only reason he was able to win against the bandits before was because he had surprised the with his semblance and speed. Now that they knew his tricks, they wouldn't fall for the same attacks again.

" **Soru**." Jaune whispered, disappearing and reappearing ten meters above the masked woman clad in black. He tensed his legs and shifted them into a kicking stance. They wanted technique? He would give them technique.

" **Geppou**." Jaune whispered again, kicking off the air with as much force as he could.

He tensed his entire arm and raised his index and middle fingers.

" **Shigan**!" Jaune shouted, aiming for the woman's figure in front of him.

She had seen his attack and dodged at the last second. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't fast enough. His attack broke through her aura and lightly grazed her cheek, breaking off a part of her mask.

Jaune crashed into the ground painfully, he didn't care though, his body was reinforced with his willpower and aura so it was unlikely that he would be injured. He smirked seeing he had finally caused damage to that scum of a bandit.

"How's that for weak?" Jaune replied.

The woman in the mask smirked. It seemed the boy in front of her had a massive willpower to prove that he would be the best of the best. Unfortunately for him, willpower will only get him so far. If he wanted to fight, she would prove how weak he truly was. Speed and strength meant little in the long run.

"So this is your path?" she asked.

"I will fight you, bandit leader. You believe everyone around to be weak? You believe that humans will fall under the oppression of the grimm? Hunters are powerful. As long as we live, we will never, and I truly mean never allow humanity to fall. This is why we have aura. We use the power of our souls to combat those who are soulless." Jaune stated.

"We won't be oppressed under the will of evil like you."

The woman's smile in front of him grew even larger than what it currently was. She shook her head and glanced at her subordinates surrounding them.

"Bring them out. We might as well show him why we did what we did." she ordered to them.

"You... what are you planning?" Jaune asked, cautious.

She didn't respond to him and instead readied her blade. She channeled her aura through it and dashed at him at full speed.

l

* * *

 **Headmaster's office present time**

 **XXX**

Ozpin sat in his chair wondering. He was doing that a lot these days. He had a nasty feeling that things were about to change. Ozpin hadn't always been very trustful of his gut instincts. In the beginning, he had always had these little twinges overcoming him. At first he had believed them to be his shaky nerves when he was young. But as time passed on, he grew to understand that these little twinges that play with his emotions tend to bring a sense of change to the world.

Sometimes they were good.

Most time though,

They were bad.

Ozpin was a man who had many regrets and even more so, mistakes.

But there was one mistake that he had vowed to never make again.

Disregard his instinct.

He tapped a button on his scroll and waited for the person on the other end to pick up. The call came through after a few seconds of beeping.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" came a voice on the other line.

"Hello Qrow." Ozpin started off.

"So? What's happened now?" Qrow replied.

"I have a job for you to do. You... may find it quite interesting. Care to accept?"

"No." Qrow hung up.

Ozpin blinked once, then twice. He sighed tiredly before redialing the number. The call this time took longer to connect through.

"Sigh, you aren't going to stop unless I listen and accept your little job, are you?"

"You are as always on point, Qrow."

"Yeah, yeah. Get on with it. I had a little too much to drink last night so I think you can guess how I'm feeling right now." Qrow replied, a hint of exasperation leaking from his tone.

"That's... odd... you're usually very tolerant of alcohol. I wonder what you drank last night."

"Yeah, it was a homemade brew. Not sure how much was in it but it definitely had quite a bit of a punch."

"A friend's brew, I presume? What's it called?"

"Malt 2000."

"That... to be honest sounds more like what you would name technology..."

"Yeah, that was my reaction as well but hooo boy, was it strong. Say, next time I come over ill bring some fore ya, how bout' it?"

"...I'm more of a coffee person, myself but I wouldn't be adverse to trying a sip or two."

"...Yeah..." Qrow replied awkwardly.

"..."

"You're awfully chatty today, Oz. What's the problem? Does it have anything to do what the job you're sending me on?"

"No, there isn't a problem... yet. Well, there is one, which could turn into a major problem but there isn't anything we can do about it now. I'll tell you about it when you come to Vale next time. This one, on the other hand, is rather personal, for you that is."

"Personal? What do you mean?" Qrow asked, confusion evident in his tone.

"Your sister. There were reports of a bandit group raiding a frontier town named Casant and the leader was said to be a woman with black hair wearing a grimm mask. There aren't many who fit that description, Qrow.

"... I see. I'll check it out. Thanks for the info." Qrow made to end the call but Ozpin stopped him.

"Hold on. I think you may find this tidbit of information just as interesting as the last."

"What is it?"

"Raven fought someone."

"She did? Well, I don't see how that make's any-"

"You misunderstand, Qrow. She didn't kill the person who she fought against. I have reason to believe that she didn't win."

"That's... almost impossible. Her skill in combat easily exceeds mine by a large margin and there aren't many out there who can actually defeat _me_... much less, her..."

"No, Raven didn't lose either. I believe that the fight was actually a draw. I could be wrong however..."

"Raven... fighting someone to a standstill? Honestly, I find that quite amazing."

"Yes, you understand now why I ask this of you don't you? I need you to find out what happened that night and figure out why she decided to attack a town.. If possible find out the identity of the person she fought against. "

"He could be an enemy to our plans?" Qrow asked, apprehension evident in his tone.

"Or an ally. We don't know just yet. With the possibility of Azule awakening, we need each and every able body to help fight him." The last part was whispered to himslef but Qrow heard him all the same.

"Azule? Who's that?" Qrow asked.

"When you're done with your investigation, come to Vale, I'll fill you in on the situation when you arrive."

"I have a feeling I'm gonna wanna bring more than just one bottle of booze with me... am I right?"

Ozpin sighed before replying, "Unfortunately."

* * *

Jaune ducked before her slash and retaliated by trying to sweep her legs with a kick. She jumped over it and backed away from him.

Jaune felt his stamina fading a lot faster than what he was expecting. All this time he had only been training his body to fight the grimm. Fighting humans was a lot more difficult than he expected.

Furthermore the woman in front of him knew how to conserve her stamina perfectly, not allowing him much reprieve in between attacks. The only reason Jaune was still able to even keep up with her was because of his massive willpower empowering his muscles.

His aura was at an all time low, having been used to pump his muscles full of power. He was sure that a single hit from the bandit leader would break it.

Jaune wasn't too worried as the passive effects of his semblance could still be used.

He panted hard as his breath came wheezing out of his chest.

"You... aren't used to conserving stamina. I find it very odd that for the amount of conditioning your body has, not to mention your reaction speed... you aren't used to fighting at all. What kind of training did you do?" The bandit leader asked.

Jaune breathed heavily, not being able to answer her question, instead taking the time to get as much oxygen into his lungs as possible.

"Oh, we can't have that happening now, can we?" the woman smiled beneath her mask as she once again dashed forward to fight him. Truly, her fighting prowess was astounding.

Jaune could no longer parry her attacks as he felt his muscles locking up from the strain he put them through. Consecutive overuse of the techniques, Soru and Geppou tended to cause his body to subconsciously shut down to prevent itself from self destructing.

He dodged a few of her slashes and jumped back to gain distance from her attacks, she caught on however and didn't allow him to escape, running after him and jumped straight at him with an aura infused kick aimed towards his chest.

Jaune's muscles screamed out in pain as he sidestepped out of the way of her kick only to realize that her leg disappeared into a portal and reappeared from a portal that spawned directly next to his head.

'Shit!' Jaune could only curse in his mind as he saw her foot smash into his face in seemingly slow motion.

With the force of a cannonball, his body flew through the air and broke through several housing walls. Jaune's form sprawled out on the floor. His aura had completely shattered under her final attack.

He had lost.

Amidst the fires of the town, the bandit leader cracked her neck and sheathed her sword. She glanced at her bandit group and smiled as they dragged out a few individuals tied in rope.

She nodded to them, showing her approval before trudging through the broken walls of the houses and arriving at Jaune kneeling on the ground, greedily sucking air into his mouth.

She gripped his arm and dragged toward the town center. Jaune could only helplessly allow her to drag him. His body, having suffered several injuries was as weak as could be at this moment. His only hope of defeating this woman was somehow being able to sneak an attack on her when she let her guard down. His aura still hadn't recovered so using the active effects of his semblance would burn away his mental strength. Unfortunately, having been travelling for half a day then immediately getting into a fight he couldn't win, had greatly reduced his mental strength.

It was only due to his massive willpower that he was currently not unconscious right now.

The leader threw him on the ground in front of the tied up men and women.

Jaune had an ominous feeling that something bad was about to happen. This scum bandit was going to murder these innocent people. He couldn't stand it. he had to do something!

"Let them go! They've done nothing wrong!" Jaune suddenly shouted.

"Let them go?" the woman asked, seemingly considering it, herself.

"Why? Why did you do this to them. Don't kill them, you scum bandit! The kingdoms will come after you. Huntsmen will be dispatched after you. You don't want that kind of attention on you!" Jaune shouted, desperate to stop them from hurting the people that were tied up.

"Scum of the earth? These people didn't do anything wrong? **You** are completely wrong Jaune Arc. It is not _I_ that is the scum of the earth."

The woman paused before continuing.

"It is them!"

"What?" Jaune asked. "What do you mean?"

"It is simple Jaune Arc. These people in front of you, this town that is burning in front of you and almost all the people that were living here are criminals."

"I... I don't understand." Jaune couldn't believe what she was saying. They were all criminals? What was she talking about?

All thoughts Jaune had of resisting or fighting against this woman faded instantly from his mind. He had an unnatural focus on her words.

The bandit leader kicked a man tied up in rope in front of her. He squirmed and tried to shout but his gag was muffling his words.

"This man, Kaden Rivers is the founder of a... relatively famous company. Around five years ago he started a business named Casant town Trades, also known as Casant INC. They involve the trading of resources such as food, dust and even metal. Their business was very successful as they even had a sponsor from the Schnee Dust company. That all changed however, when this man hired a secretary that went by the name of Everdeen."

Jaune was hanging on to her every word. The bandit leader had built up his achievements and made him seem like a great person who had great future for his company. So why were her lips curled in distaste?

"His secretary, you see, had an unlocked aura as well as a semblance. When Kaden here," she nudged him with her foot, "found out what her semblance was, he used her to manipulate control several important figures of our society today. With their influence backing his actions, he became greedy and decided he wanted more money for certain side projects."

She paused to gauge his reactions.

"Wait, I don't understand. What semblance was powerful enough to manipulate these so called 'important figures of society'?" Jaune asked. He stood up from his kneeling position on the ground. His aura had recovered slightly but he had no intentions of using it just yet.

Absentmindedly he wondered why he was even listening to a bandit but he forced himself to focus on the current matter at hand.

The woman replied, "Everdeen had a semblance that was capable of controlling people's minds."

At his bewildered expression, she hurriedly set to explain. "At first her ability wasn't powerful enough to do so. In the beginning, she was only able to input subtle suggestions into her targets minds. As she kept using her ability, however, it grew to be powerful enough to be considered as mind control."

"I... don't believe it. That's actually a pretty amazing semblance." Jaune exclaimed, rubbing his temples. "I still don't understand."

Jaune shook his head. "I still don't understand. Why did you say that almost everyone in this town is a criminal?"

"Like I said earlier, Kaden Rivers became greedy. He wanted more money and his ticket to Heaven was Everdeen's semblance. He soon sought out the criminal underworld and using her semblance, had become a criminal kingpin. His trading company was became a front to his new shady business. Soon he seized control of this entire town and it became a hub of the criminal underworld."

Jaune sighed. This was becoming an issue that he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with.

"That can't be the extent of what he's done is it? Even if this was an underworld hub point, tipping off several huntsman would be enough to solve this issue."

"Normally that would be the case, except that Kaden had made several insurance measures and made sure Everdeen controlled several huntsmen to protect this town."

"Her abilities extend that far? Where is Everdeen now?" Jaune asked.

"Dead."

"...You killed her? Why? You could have just sent her jail."

"You are smart Jaune Arc but ultimately naive. They were lovers. Everdeen and Rivers loved each other dearly so if ever she was jailed, she would use her powers to get herself and Rivers out. It isn't as simple as you believe. Rivers has many connections to the higher ups in society, making him almost immune to the law."

"This is messed up... honestly I'm surprised you were able to take out this town with your bandit group..."

"

The leader laughed at his expression. She found him amusing. Perhaps if he were interested...

"Jaune Arc... I would like to extend you an invitation."

"An invitation? For what?"

"Join my clan. I can train you and make you powerful. We may be bandits but we are family. Are you interested?"

"I..." Jaune couldn't believe what she was asking him. Join her clan? Become a bandit?

At this point Jaune was confused. Was she a bandit or was she some sort of vigilante group that operated away from the kingdoms? She had even confirmed herself to be a bandit but weren't they supposed to be bad people?

Was she... did he dare say it? A 'good' bandit? Could bandits even be good? Well, clearly they could considering what the woman's group was doing was basically stopping a criminal organisation.

Sigh.

"Take you time. I don't expect an answer now." The barest hint of a smile graced her face as she grabbed the man Rivers by the scruff of his neck. He protested massively, groaning in pain when he was lifted as though he weighed nothing. She unsheathed her sword. For a second, I was worried she was going to harm him.

"Wait! Don't hurt him." I shouted, to try to stop her.

"Relax. I have special plans for him. Don't worry Jaune Arc. I won't hurt him." The bandit leader explained. She looked around at her group and nodded at them, passing a hidden message that Jaune wasn't able to discern. They nodded back toward her.

She threw Rivers at a one of the burly looking bandits near her. The man cried out in alarm when he landed in the bandit's arms. I couldn't blame him. His face, even when covered by a mask looked particularly menacing.

The bandit woman swung her sword in an arc in front of her, seemingly distorting the air. A red portal emerged from nowhere. This one was bigger than any of her previous ones. The bandits around her apparently knew what she was doing and charged into the portal with reckless abandon, disappearing completely.

The woman turned to look at Jaune one last time.

"Jaune, be careful out there. Rivers, recently made a breakthrough in drug production and created his very own blend of special chemicals. It's called R-X. I'm not sure exactly what it does but what I do know is when consumed, it rapidly ages the body in return for massive amounts of strength. It was released a few weeks ago so there weren't many that were introduced to the black market. If you find any information about it, let the authorities know as soon as possible." She conveyed.

Rivers was truly an interesting man.

Jaune could only helplessly nod. He didn't have the skills to fight her and her group not to mention his powers were severely exhausted at this moment in time. He was completely helpless.

However he had to confirm one thing.

"You... can you promise me that what you have just told me wasn't in any way a lie? We just fought and I still have an inkling sensation that you're evil. For all I know, you could be constructing a really good lie just to get me on your side."

To his surprise, she started to chuckle.

"Wow. You really have new ways to surprise me don't you?" She shook her head helplessly at him. Jaune could only blush at the way she implied his intelligence. However, he just had to confirm it. No matter what. It was his duty.

"Don't worry Jaune Arc. I'm not lying. There isn't really a point in lying to you. As for doing this to get you on my side? No I wouldn't do that." She smiled.

Jaune sighed in relief before her next sentence sent a chill down his spine.

"If I wanted to get you on my side, I'd have kidnapped you and brainwashed you." She smirked once more, seeing his expression. "You need to stop being as naive as you currently are. There is not such thing as Good and Evil. There is only power and those smart enough to know how to take it."

Jaune raised a eyebrow. "What do you mean? Of course there is good and Evil."

"No. This is a subject that you will learn about in due time. Only experiencing it will make you understand. There is no time for me to explain anything as I have to leave. I'll... be seeing you around Jaune. Farewell thee well." She smiled as she started walking toward her portal.

' _Uh-Oh, I still don't know what her name was.'_ thought Jaune as he called out to her.

"Wait! What's you-" he was interrupted by her taking off her mask and looking back at him one last time.

Holy crap she was hot. The most startling feature of her were her eyes. Blood red.

"Raven. Raven Branwen." She replied.

She stepped into the portal a moment later, vanishing to who knows where.

Jaune breathed out. He didn't even realize that he was holding his breath. He stared at his hands and shook his head side to side.

"What a woman."

* * *

 **AN**

 **Heh, all your questions will be answered soon. Sorry if this story wasn't what you were expecting but I do appreciate the support.**

 **Erm... Thanks for not eating all my food?**


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